Industrial door opening means



3 SheetsSheet l K. G. TAYLOR INDUSTRIAL DOOR OPENING MEANS Filed June 18, 1941 .K XL I I I I I Oct. 19, 1943.

INVENTOR. Kennefh 6.7ay/or 3:0,0W HIS V ATTORNEY Oct. 19, E943. K. G. TAYLOR 2,332,023

INDUSTRIAL DOOR OPENING MEANS Filed June 18, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2' I IO/ INVENTOR.

f Ken/75 g G Tay or I HIS ATTORNEY Oct. 19, 1943. K. is. TAYLOR 2,332,023

INDUSTRIAL DOOR OPENING MEANS Filed June 18. 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 l a g 1 INVENTOR. 66 Kennefh G.7'cr y/or 68 QQQM ms ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 19, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INDUSTRIAL noon. OPENING MEANS.

Kenneth. G.. Taylor, Detroit, Mich. Application June 18, 1941, Serial No. 398,643

(01. ass-51).

2 Claims.

My invention pertains to door operating apparatus and more particularly to means for opening and closing large doors comprising a. plurality of relatively movable sections to be opened or closed simultaneously", as in airplane hangers or various other industrial installations.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved door operating, system for a door having a plurality of sections transversely offset with respect to each other and movable relatively to each other while being moved to open or closed positions, the sections being relatively extended when closed and being arranged side by side when in open positions, which door operating system comprises a simplified rugged arrangement of few parts which is economical to manufacture, install and maintain. and which is convenient and reliable in operation.

It is also an object of my invention to provide such a door operating system comprising a plurality of door operating wheels corresponding in number to the number of door sections and each door operating wheel being of a double formation presenting a driving portion and a driven portion, an endless flexible member connected with the driving portion of each door operating wheel and. extending therefrom around a remote idler connecting to a door section. to be operated, reversible power means, and power transmission means connecting from the power means to the. driven portions of the various double door operating wheels for driving the'operating wheels at different speeds for moving the different con nected door sections to arrive simultaneously at the open or closed positions depending upon the direction of rotation of the power means.

It is a further object of my invention to provide such a door operating system having aquick locking device which may be operated quickly and conveniently to connect or disconnect the door operating member connecting with each respective section of the door for operating such door section manually and independently of the system in the event of power iailure or for any other purpose.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved door operating device or unit which is a simplified construction of few parts; which is rugged and reliable having positive operating characteristics; and which may be conveniently assembled and installed for use in such a door operating system.

Further objects and advantages are within the scope of my invention, such as relate to the arrangement, operation and function of the related elements of the structure, to various details of construction and to combinations of parts, elements per se, and to economics of manufacture and numerous other features as will be apparent from a consideration of the specification in conjunction. with the. drawings disclosing specific embodiments. of my invention, similar reference characters being applied to corresponding elements. throughout, and in which:

Fig. 1. is a side elevational view showing an airplane hangar, or other industrial building, having a large doorway closed by large movable door sections actuated to open or closed position by my door operating apparatus. installed in the building as represented by dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a. sectional or plan view, partially diagrammatic, showing a portion of the building as indicated by section line 2-2 in Fig. 1, only sufiicient of the door sections and front part of the building being shown to illustrate the installation of the door operating unit and the connection with the respective door operating sections;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the door operating unit, per se, the flexible members such as chains or cables. being represented by dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view on line 5--5 of Fig.

Fig. 6 is a. similar view showing a modified construction Fig. '7 is a rear elevational view showing a quick action connecting and disconnecting device for attaching each flexible door operating member to one of the door sections to be operated thereby; and

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view of the connecting device taken in section as indicated by the line 8-8 in Fig. 7.

' Referring more specifically to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, I have illustratively disclosed my improved door operating unit and system installed in an airplane hangar II but it will be understood that my improved door operating apparatus may be advantageously utilized in any industrial or other building having large door sections to be opened or closed simultaneously. In such a building H, a large doorway I3 is usually closed by a plurality of large door sections [4, l5 and I6 which are transversely oifset with respect to each other and which are relatively extended when in closed positions and disposed side by side when in open positions. The door sections are mounted for movement, as by rolling or sliding on suitable guide rails (not shown) in a well known manner, which is not a 7 part of the present invention. In operation the door sections all move relatively to each other and at different velocities so that all the sections arrive at the final open or closed positions at the same instant.

In accordance with my invention the improved door operating unit I? is mounted in the building Ii adjacent the level of the upper edges of the door sections andadjacent to the side of doorway l3 toward which the door sections are to be moved when the door is opened. A plurality of flexible door operating members [9, 2|, 23, and 21 extend separately from the door operating unit to the respective door sections to be thereby operated. Each flexible door operating member extends to and passes around an idler wheel 29 mounted on the building structure ll adjacent and slightly beyond the center position of each closed door section to be thereby operated. Each flexible door operator is connected with the door section which is preferably accomplished by means of a quick releasable connector, to be subsequently described in detail. The flexible door operating members which extend from the unit out to the respective door sections may be either chains or cables to suit the requirements of any particular installation.

Figs. 3 to 6 show the door operator unit H which comprises a base structure or frame which may consist of a pair of side plates 3| of a substantially triangular shape. The side plates 3i may be of steel plate, or any other suitable metal, which is selected of a thickness suitable to provide the necessary strength and rigidity in accordance with usual practise in machine design. An angle iron 33 is secured to the lower edge of each side plate as by bolts 35 passing through suitably aligned apertures 31 which may preferably be vertically elongated slots to provide for adjustment of either angle iron vertically to suit the requirements of any particular installation. The other flange of each angle iron is horizontal- 1y disposed providing a horizontal pedestal flange on which the unit may be mounted and holes 38 may be provided therein to facilitate mounting. A bottom plate 39 is secured across the bottom of the unit by attachment to the angle irons in any suitable manner, as by welding, to hold the side plates in suitably spaced relation and to provide a base for mounting the unit. A cross rod 4| connects between the side plates at a position substantially above the bottom plate and toward the upper portions of the side plates. The ends of the cross rod 41, which project outwardly through apertures in the side plates 3|, are threaded to receive nuts 43 for securely clamping the side plates. The spaced distance between the side plates 31 may be conveniently adjusted by screwing either pair of nuts closer to or further from the other side.

The base or frame structure of the operator unit supports a power shaft 45 the ends of which are journalled in bearing blocks 4! which are attached to the side plates of the unit, as by welding. The bearing apertures may be bored through the bearing blocks 41 and the side plates 3| in one operation, after which shaft thrust plates 49 are secured over the ends of the bearing apertures, as by screws 5|. A door operator shaft 53 is also journalled between the side plates 31 of the unit in spaced parallel relation to the power shaft 45. To provide suflicient bearing surface the side plates 3| are provided with bearing blocks 55 secured thereto, as by welding, and the ends of the door operator shaft 53 pass through suitable bearing apertures in the bearing blocks and extend outwardly through aligned openings in the side plates. The door operator shaft is secured in properly aligned position in the unit by means of a shaft lock 51, which is a strip of metal secured to the outer surface of the side plate as by screw 59. The edge of the shaft lock strip 5'! is inserted into a flattened groove 6| in the side of end of the operator shaft and thereby holds the shaft in a proper axially aligned position, and prevents rotation thereof.

The door operator shaft 53 is provided with a plurality of door operating wheels 63 disposed to rotate freely on the shaft and spaced apart at suitable distances by spacer tubes 65 placed along on the shaft between the wheels. The spacer tubes 65 may be seen in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. The door operator wheels 63 are provided in a number depending upon the number of door sections which are to be operated and these are conveniently positioned and spaced upon the operator shaft 53 by providing suitable tubular spacers 65 thereon. Each door operating wheel 63 is of a double formation presenting a driven portion 66 and a driving portion 61. The driven portion 66 of the door operator wheel is adapted to receive a flexible member and preferably is a sprocket wheel for receiving a sprocket chain 68 whereby it is driven. The driving portion 61 of each operator wheel 63 may also be a chain sprocket wheel, as shown in Fig. 5, for driving a flexible member 69, shown dotted, which may be a sprocket chain, extending out to the door section to be operated. But if desired the driving portion of each door operator wheel 63 may be a cable sheave ll or drum, as shown in Fig. 6, for operating a rope or cable 13 to move the door sections. The door operating wheels 63 rotate freely upon the shaft 53 and any suitable provision may be made for lubrication of the bearing surfaces in accordance with usual machine design practise.

The power shaft 45 of the unit is provided with a plurality of drive wheels 15 of different diameters which are secured rigidly to the power shaft as by set screws 11, or keys may be used for securing the wheels on the shaft in a well known manner if desired. The drive wheels are secured on the power shaft at different spaced positions so that each drive wheel is in alignment with the driven portion 66 of one of the door operator wheels 63 to be driven therefrom, by means of a sprocket chain 68 as represented by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The sprocket chain drive wheels 15 are selected of different diameters the relative ratios of which correspond to the different distances through which the different door sections must be moved between the open and the closed positions of the door. The power shaft 45 is driven by any suitable motive means which for convenience may be an electric motor 19. For this purpose I prefer to utilize a two speed re- Versible gear head motor, which may be coupled with the power shaft though any suitable transmission such as a pair of sprocket wheels 8| on the shaft of the motor, driving a pair of sprocket chains 83 over a pair of sprocket wheels 85 secured on the power shaft 45. Any suitable controls may be provided for controlling the opera tion of the motor in a usual manner.

Figs. '7 and 8 show the quick releasable device by which the elongated flexible door operating members or chains are conveniently connected to or disconnected from the various respective door sections, so that the sections may be quickly released for manual operation in the event of power failure or for any other reason. One such quick releasable connecting device is secured upon each door section to which a chain is to be connected. Each quick releasable connector device comprises a base or pedestal portion 9| having holes therein (shown dotted) for convenient attachment upon the door sections as by screws or bolts. Rising from the pedestal is a wall bracket 93 the upper portion of which is turned over and down providing a flange 95 in spaced relation. Passing through aligned bearing apertures in the middle of the bracket wall and the down turned flange, is a shaft 9! having a washer 99 and a cotter pin Hi6 on one end and a locking wheel lfil secured on the opposite projecting end, by a set screw Hi3 and key 104.. A sprocket chain wheel I05 is secured to the intermediate portion of the shaft 9! between the wall bracket and the down turned flange $5 thereof, in any suitable manner, as by a key or pins Hi6. On the opposite sides of the centrally journalled shaft 91 are two shafts Ill! which pass through bearing apertures aligned in the bracket wall 93 and the down turned flange, and each shaft is provided with a small chain wheel ms secured on the intermediate portion. The chain extending from the operator unit to be connected to the door section is passed under the two outer wheels I69 and over the middle wheel N15, or conversely it may be passed over the tWo outer wheels and under the middle wheel.

To look the device and operatively connect the chain to the door section, the locking wheel IUI is provided with a plurality of notches l l I spaced around the periphery. A locking latch bar H3 is pivotally mounted on a pin H5 between a pair of spaced lugs H1 rising from the middle of the base 9| in such a position that the inner end of the latch bar may be lifted to look into a notch in the rim of the locking wheel IDI to prevent rotation thereof and thus to lock the chain operatively to the door section. For reinforcement when in locked position, the inner end of the latch bar enters a slot I I8 in the wall bracket 93. The outer end of the latch bar H3 is provided with a rope H9 which hangs down along the inside of the door where it is secured or tied to any suitable hasp. When it is desired to release the door section'from the operator chain it is only necessary to release the rope H9 from the hasp on the door. A spring I2l is preferably secured and tensioned between the inner end of the latch bar and an anchor pin I22 between lugs H1, for drawing the inner end of the latch down away from the notches in the locking wheel to assure that the door section will be promptly unlocked from the operating chain when the rope is released. The latch pivot pin H5 and spring anchor pin I22 may be secured by pins I22.

When a cable is used for operating, each door is connected by means of a disconnect cable clamp device which is on the market. Also any cable or chain may be firmly fastened to the door section by permanent clamping means in a well known manner.

In operation the unit is mounted in a suitable position at the side of the doorway to which it is desired to draw all the door sections when opening the door. Each driving wheel on the power shaft is operatively connected with an aligned driven portion of one of the double door operating wheels. From the driving portion of each door operating wheel a suitable flexible door operating member is extended and connected to separate ones of the door sections so that the section driven by the driving wheel of largest diameter is the one which is most remote from the unit. The electric motor or other motive means is operatively connected to the power shaft, suitable controls being provided for the reversible operation thereof.

To open the door, the power shaft is driven in a proper direction and the door sections are all drawn toward the open position simultaneously by the elongated chains or other flexible operating members connected thereto. The second door section moving twice as fast as the first, the third moving three times as fast, and each more remote section moving proportionately faster causes all the door sections to arrive at the open position at the same instant. To close the door, the power shaft is driven in the reverse direction and the respective door sections are drawn in the reverse direction as the door operating chains pass around the corresponding idler wheels mounted on the building structure beyond the center of the closed position of each door section.

t is apparent that within the scope of the invention modifications and different arrangements may be made other than herein disclosed, and the present disclosure is illustrative merely,

the invention comprehending variations thereof. a

I claim:

l. A door operating unit comprising, a pair of spaced side plates, structure means joining said side plates in a spaced relation, a power shaft journalled between said side plates, drive wheels of different diameters rigidly mounted on said power shaft, said drive wheels corresponding in number to a number of door sections to be simultaneously moved by the unit and the diameters thereof corresponding to the different distances through which door sections are to be moved, an idler shaft mounted between said side plates, a plurality of door operating wheels disposed for free rotation on said idler shaft, tubular spacers on said idler shaft between the door operating wheels, the door operating wheels corresponding in number to the drive wheels and each door operating wheel being of a double formation presenting a driven and a drive portion, and an endless flexible member connecting each drive wheel to the driven portion of a corresponding operating wheel to be driven at a suitable speed for operating any door section to which the drive portion of the wheel may be connected.

2. In a door operating unit, a base structure comprising a pair of side plates, angle irons secured along the lower edges of said side plates, means joining said side plates together in a spaced parallel relation, a power shaft journalled between said side plates, sprocket drive wheels of different diameters rigidly mounted on said power shaft, said drive wheels corresponding in number to a number of door sections to be moved by the unit and the diameters of the drive wheels corresponding to the different distances through which different door sections are to be moved, an idler shaft mounted between said side plates, a plurality of door operating wheels mounted for free rotation on said idler shaft and corresponding in number to the sprocket drive wheels, each door operating wheel being of a double formation presenting two sprocket chain wheels, means spacing said door operating wheels on said idler shaft so that a sprocket chain portion of each is in alignment with a respective one of the sprocket drive wheels, and a sprocket chain connecting each sprocket drive wheel to one portion of the aligned door operating wheel for moving at proper relative velocities the various door sections to which the other portion of each door operating wheel may be connected.

KENNETH G. TAYLOR. 

